"Mend Your Ways Or...": Mumbai Builder Gets Threat From 'Chhota Shakeel'

A Mumbai-based builder received a threat letter and a live bullet, claiming to be from fugitive gangster Chhota Shakeel, a crucial name associated with the city's underworld past.

On March 6, while Mehul Mehta was inside the premises of a construction site in Andheri West, his bodyguard Vaibhav Soma Bavkar came to the car to pick up a gift. Between the rear number plate and trunk, he found a suspicious plastic package. On closer inspection, he found the threatening letter and the live bullet.

When the package was opened, the letter was found to be addressed to Mehta. The handwritten letter read, "Mehta, mend your ways. You don't understand. Today it's outside, tomorrow it'll be inside your chest."

The police was informed, who then arrived at the scene and seized the envelope, letter and live bullet.

Police say an unknown person placed the package on the car around 2.15 pm.

A case has been registered against unknown persons the Arms Act and Indian Penal Code. The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch is examining CCTV footage in an attempt to identify the accused.

The police is yet to verify if the letter addressed to Mehta is linked to Chhota Shakeel, a key aide of former Mumbai underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim. He is also wanted by the US government for international drug trafficking. Several intelligence inputs have suggested that he now resides in Pakistan.

In August last year, a 51-year-old businessman filed a complaint alleging death threats and extortion attempts linked to Chhota Shakeel's network. The complainant, who is engaged in the import of chemicals and petrochemicals, claims the threats are related to a business dispute involving an Iranian company.

The threat came weeks after actor Ranveer Singh reportedly got a threat through a WhatsApp voice message, in which the sender allegedly demanded several crores of rupees as ransom. Earlier, bullets were fired at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's residence. Actor Salman Khan and his father and veteran script writer Salim Khan have repeatedly received threats from the gang led by Lawrence Bishnoi.